


Candle in the Water

by HeathNils



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Break Up, Car Accidents, Heartbreak, M/M, Mentions of LoRay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-03-09 00:57:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18906250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeathNils/pseuds/HeathNils
Summary: "You have to see you unimportance before you can see your importance and your significance to the world."-Charlie HadenAfter finding out his boyfriend has been cheating on him, Gray storms out and winds up in a terrible car accident that leaves him severely wounded and facing the possibility of never walking again. He was ready to just give up only to have a drop-dead gorgeous personal doctor and physical therapist named Lyon Vastia to step in and complicate things for him.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually based on a request from a fellow fanfic/reader but I forgot who it was that requested it and which fanfiction it was requested in but what I do remember was that it was a StingxNatsu one though I think I have long since deleted it... Or rewritten it... One or the other had happened.
> 
> Right after Gratsu, Stingue, Orfus and Fraxus; Lyoray was another one of my top favorite pairings. X3

He was told that while he was going to visit out of town, he was going to be out on the town with a couple of friends and wouldn't return until later that night when he either would be or would have just returned home and likely be passed out by the time he came home.

He believed him.

Gray Fullbuster was on his way home after visiting his father in the country side, an hour long drive and was looking forward to going home and just cuddling against the snoring lump of his boyfriend of five years, Loke Regulus. Gray was thin, almost lanky young man with a rather toned and muscular body with pale skin, unruly dark hair and dark blue eyes almost never seen without his prized necklace, which resembled a sword with a stone in it.

When Gray pulled up into the driveway, he wasn't surprised to see his boyfriend's parked BMW; So he must've come home before he did. The house was dark, save the porch light that was left on but there was nothing that indicated the scene Gray was about to walk into. After shutting off his car, he stepped out into the night air and grabbed his bag and cellphone before he closed the door and locked his car as he made his way to the front door. He unlocked the front door, pushing it open to reveal a dark landing;

Nothing unusual.

"Aahn~"

Gray froze, his finger barely an inch away from the light switch to the downstairs landing as he slowly looked up the flight of stairs that led up to the second floor.

What was that?

Another moan had Gray rushing up the stairs, toward their room in a panic. Was Loke hurt? It sounded like that was a moan of pain. Gray was barely a foot away from their bedroom door when he heard someone-- Someone he didn't know-- speak, a young woman from the sounds of it and he heard Loke replied back to the female voice.

"Oh Loke~ More~"

"You got it baby~"

_'No... It couldn't be...'_

Gray's eyes grew wide and his heart was beating. He crept closer and closer to their bedroom, noticing that the door was open just by a sliver, allowing a gentle and warm light to filter through the opened door and when pushed the door open, he froze in place and felt his heart shatter.

On their bed was was his boyfriend Loke, naked with his short cut, unruly orange hair spiky hair drenched with sweat, clinging to his forehead, while he thrust into the body of an equally naked and busty woman. He watched with pain as an utterly animalistic grin appeared on Loke's face, the way he latched onto at the woman's neck, harshly sucking as her dark-brown head tossing about wildly on the edge of the mattress. The woman seemed to have realized that she and Loke weren't the only ones in the house as her head snapped up and she locked eyes with Gray as they continued their-- 'lovemaking', though Gray wasn't sure if it could be called such a thing. It was feral and rushed, no where near as gentle as Loke was with Gray. The woman smiled, if albeit crookedly and flashed her shining dark eyes at him.

"Loke~" The woman purred, but it came out as more of a moan, her long fingers and nails pulling at his orange locks. "Oh Loke~"

That broke him.

When Loke looked up, his husky bed-room voice drawling out the woman's name when she dived at his neck, still eyeing their new, blonde spectator with malice. It was then Loke looked up and saw the hurt dark blue eyes; the frustration and anger mixing into a dangerous brew.

He was dead.

"Gray!" Loke smiled. "B-Baby-- You're home early."

"You... You..." Gray grit his teeth. He very much wanted t o say something but nothing came out.

He had nothing to say.

Without another word, Gray stormed away from the bedroom and down the stairs. He could hear Loke stumbling behind him as he pulled on a pair of jeans, much to the anger and annoyance of the woman in the bed, who groaned as the ginger-haired male pulled out of her and attempted to stop his raven-haired boyfriend-- well EX-boyfriend.

"Gray! I can explain!"

"No!"

"Gray!"

"Get away from me!"

"I really can explain!"

"What's there to explain?!" Gray snarled as he turned to face him, stopping short making Loke nearly crash into him. "You've been cheating on me you bastard!"

"I'm sorry!"

"You're sorry? YOU'RE SORRY?!" Gray all but screamed, hands clenching tight around his keys. "THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY?!"

"What do you want me to say?" Loke whined. "I have needs!"

"And that warrants you to cheat on me?!"

"It was one time--"

"Hardly." The woman scoffed from a top the stairs, already dressed and moved down the stairs. "We been hooking up every other three days."

Gray shot Loke another enraged glare while Loke turned to the woman. "Brianna!"

She merely huffed, clearly still upset with Loke's rather _'poor'_ performance and was making her way toward the door, Gray's voice halted her once more.

"How long?"

"'How long'?" She repeated, unsure of what the other man said.

"How long have the two of you been seeing each other?"

The woman, Brianna, sighed as she looked into the broken eyes of the ravenette. She actually felt bad, guilty even, for the boy before her and despite Loke's desperate and silent plea behind Gray's back not to say anything more, she decided to ease her conscious and seal Loke's fate for the terrible night.

"7 months." She replied to the anguish of both Gray and Loke. "And I guarantee you I'm not the only he's been seeing either."

And with that, she left.

A heavy and tense silence filled the now quiet house and that scared Loke. He slowly approached the rigid ravenette, hand outstretched to his shoulder.

"Babe-- I know what you heard sounds outrageous but--"

"Get out."

"What?"

"GET OUT!" Gray roared, rounding on him. "JUST GET OUT!"

"But--"

"I'm going to my Dad's," Gray cut across, moving toward the door, "If you're still here when I get back, I'm calling the police."

"But--"

Gray didn't allow Loke to speak as he stepped outside and slammed the door behind him.

 

* * *

 

 

Gray was 10 minutes into his driving when he was stopped by red light. He looked to his phone that sat in his cup holder and decided to make a call his Dad, if he was going to stay with him for awhile he might as well let him know now that he was coming back his way. He listened to the dial tone as he waited for the light to green and after three rings, his father picked up.

_"Hey kiddo-- Made it home safe?"_

"Y-Yeah." He could feeling his throat burning. "I made it home."

 _"Good good."_ His father replied. _"So how was the drive home?"_

"It was g-good." He tried desperately to keep the cracking out of his voice. "It was good."

It clearly didn't work. _"Is everything okay?"_

"I don't want to talk about it." Gray choked back a sob. "C-Can I stay with you? For a-awhile... P-Please?"

 _"Always."_ His father replied. _"You're always welcome here. My home is always open to you."_

"T-Thank you Dad." Gray sobbed. "Thank you."

 _"Sure thing buddy."_ He could hear his father smile. _"Anytime."_

"I-I'll be there in about 5-50 minutes."

_"Okay. I'll have your favorite pizza waiting for ya'."_

"Thanks Dad."

The light turned green and Gray applied pressure to the gas pedal, still talking to his father and was halfway through the intersection when a bright blue sports car came roaring down the road from the left. It was clear the driver and their passengers was either intoxicated or weren't paying any attention to the road as the car was swerving and weaving all over the road, picking up speed, reaching 90 miles an hour and it ran the red light and rammed itself right into the left side of Gray's Subaru. The force of the impact sent the little four-door car to veer violently to left, lifting up and it rolled over several times before both cars came to a stop the Subaru in a nearby ditch upside down and the sports car crashed into the nearest street post.

An eerie silence fell over the intersection nothing could be heard but the hissing smoke from the damaged cars and frantic yelling from a cellphone that had landed on the roof of the Subaru.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a bit hard to type up.
> 
> I have nothing against Loke x Gray or 'LoRay' as I read a couple of really good fanfics on this and I read a few head canons of the pairing and they're pretty good. I might try my hand at it.
> 
> I based this car accident on my own experiences but let's keep in mind, I'm basing it rather loosely as one I don't remember and two the car that hit me neither looked like a sports car or was even going that fast. D:


	2. What Happened

A large, black 1985 Chevy Silverado truck roared down a long stretch of highway-- quiet and all but empty. It sped down the concrete in speeds well over the posted speed limit that one wouldn't think a truck as old as an '85 pickup truck would be capable of as the driver mentally urged it to move faster. The driver, a man in his late thirties, early forties gunned the truck to move faster, passing car after car and what trucks and RVs that remained on the road at this time of night as he urged the truck to move faster-- FASTER!

He needed to get to Magnolia and NOW!

He was a tall man, well-built from years working with a variety of heavy machinery. His eyes were an inky black and were matched with his hair- that was short and styled into a number of rather unkept and messy strands pointing backwards with some topping his forehead. Dark thin sideburns followed down the length of his jaw to the stubble covering the majority of his chin, making his face rather sharp, bringing his facial features out more and making even the slightest wrinkles below his eyes stand out. He had a long scar that extended from his hairline to his lower left ear, left by an altercation with a man on the job years ago and both of his ears were adorned by silver-colored earrings, consisting of a ring with a little chain ending in a cross pendant that fluttered wildly in the rushing wind.

He could still hear the sounds of metal crunching and scraping, glass being smashed, tires screeching and blowing out a scream-- A gut-wrenching pain filled scream echoing in his mind. When his son didn't respond after those horrifying sounds passed, he quickly called 911, grabbed his keys and made a mad dash to his truck, calling everyone he knew and that his son knew-- Looking for help, information!

His _'Dad Instincts'_ were screaming!

And Magnolia was still 40 miles away!

He jumped out of skin, nearly losing control of his speeding truck when his cellphone suddenly went off next to him on bench-like seat. He quickly snatched it and quickly checked the screen face and nearly cried in relief at the name on his caller ID and he quickly swiped his thumb across the screen, accepting it and placing it on speaker.

"Natsu!" He cried. "Thank God!"

 _"Hey Silver."_ The person on the other end, Natsu, replied. _"You called?"_

"Yeah. Thank God you called back!" The man, Silver said. "I need help!"

_"What's up? Is everything all right?"_

"No! Everything's not alright." Silver was hyperventilating. "Have you heard from my son recently?"

 _"Gray?"_ Natsu paused briefly. _"No. Not since yesterday night when we got off shift. Why?"_

"I-I think something's happened!" Silver gasped. "N-No... Something's happened to my son!"

That got Natsu's attention. _"What happened? Is Gray okay?"_

"I don't know!" Silver's entire body shook as tried desperately to keep himself together. "I-I was on the phone with him less then thirty minutes ago! H-He called me-- Telling me he was coming back to stay with me for awhile--"

_"Why?"_

"He wouldn't say," Silver shook his head, "All I know was that he was upset when he called me and the next thing I knew I'm hearing the sounds of crying tires, busting glass and a scream-- A horrifying painful scream before I lost connection with him! I-I think he got himself into an accident! I called 911-- I'm on my way now!"

_"Oh shit-- Laxus! LAXUS!"_

_"Hnh-- Wha--"_ A new voice entered the line. It sounded as though the owner had just woke up. _"Whazz-- What's wrong?"_

_"We need to find Gray!"_

_"Full- Fullbuster?"_ Came a large yawn. _"Why? What's up?"_

 _"His dad's on the phone!"_ Natsu answered as the sounds of drawers being opened and rifled through entered the air. _"He thinks something's happened to Gray! We have to find him! Now! Get up and get dressed!"_

 _"Shit."_ The new voice, Laxus, cursed. _"Give me that shirt-- It'll do."_

"Please PLEASE!" He begged. "Find my son. Please find my son!"

* * *

 

Half and hour had passed since he last spoke with Natsu and Laxus. He was just 10 miles outside of Magnolia when Natsu called him.

_"Silver... It's... It's bad."_

It wasn't something Silver, a father, wanted to hear.

Perhaps he was being overly optimistic, entering a type of denial and believed he was merely overreacting in hoping that Gray was just fine; There was no accident and even if there was, his son would only escape with nothing but a few scraps and bruises on him. Natsu calling only confirmed his worst fears and worst nightmares had combined together and decided to destroy his world-- His whole world had been swallowed by darkness and shattered right before his eyes as he slammed his foot into the gas, urging his truck to go faster.

_'No... No!'_

His son, his only son had indeed gotten involved with accident-- a terrible and horrible accident in the form an car accident: One of the many and worst things a parent never wanted to hear-- To Silver, it was as good as telling him that his son was dead. The only thing that Silver was able to understand was that once Natsu and Laxus were able to locate Gray, he as well as 3 others, were already being transported to the nearst E.R and that Gray was still in surgery as they spoke so they don't know the exact extent of Gray's injuries. Laxus was able to give Silver the address of the hospital of where he had been taken, where they would meet up; About another 10 minutes of driving. Silver was starting to become erratic.

He wanted to see his son and NOW!

It would be another 30 minutes before Silver was able to find his way to the hospital and parking close enough that wouldn't get him ticketed or threatened with a tow truck and he rushed inside the building, blinded by the bright and sterile lights briefly before he paused, looking around. He had no idea where he was supposed go or where the ER was, he had never been to this hospital, he couldn't see Laxus or Natsu and it didn't help that none of the staff seemed to take notice of his frantic desperation which added more to his anxities and fears. He frantically bounced from one foot to the other as he looked every which way, briefly moving down one direction before pausing and returning to his orginial spot; his flaring temper, frustations and desperation combining together as short, harsh and struggling sobs that he tried to swallow, escaped his throat finally earning him the attention of a passing nurse.

“Sir?"

He jumped and whipped his head around, eyes wide and he was greeted by a young woman dressed in powder pink scrubs.

"Can I help--"

"Yes!" Silver shouted, grabbing the scared woman by the shoulders, startling everyone present and making all eyes land on him. "YES! I need help! Help!"

"Ok ok," the woman assured sweetly, placing her hands over Silver's to calm him, "Calm down. Breathe. Breathe."

"My son... My son," Silver breathed, whole body trembling violently as tears finally escaped, "He-- He was in-- In an accident... Please... Please help."

"Ok ok," the woman smiled, "It'll be okay. What's his name?"

"Gray." Silver breathed. "G-Gray Fullbuster. I need-- I need... ER. Where is the ER?"

"Ah." She nodded. "The ER is this way. Follow me."

"Thank you." Silver gasped. "Thank you."

Silver released the young woman, who smiled at him in assurance and began to lead him to the left, down a long hallway. They passed a number of rooms, paintings, machines; doctors, nurses and various other staff were running past them to their next assignment or attend to the next patient until Silver was lead through a pair of large doors with a large bright neon sign that said _'Emergency Room'_ over it and she paused, Silver following suit as she waved her hand to a pair of chairs in front of a desk.

"Please wait here,” the nurse said gently, standing in front of the station and gesturing at the chairs behind him, "I'll check you in and I'll find you some information on your son."

"Please please," Silver was desperate, "I just-- I need-- Is he okay- please, I just n-need-- I need to know."

"I know I know," the nurse cooed, patting his arm, "I understand. I, too am a parent, but I need to make sure your son was admitted here and where he is, okay?"

"O-Okay," Silver muttered, hand gasping at air as he reached for the chair behind, "Okay."

She gave him one last reassuring smile before she turned and began talking with another woman behind the receptionist counter. Silver continued his deep breathing exercises, attempting to calm his nerves but it was hard.

So very hard.

"Silver!"

Silver's head shot up at the sound of his name and found two men running toward him and shot to his feet, arms open.

"N-Natsu." He croaked. "Laxus."

He grunted as the smaller of the two, Natsu Dragneel, a lean and muscular young man with a slight tan collided into his chest. His large and usually bright golden eyes were dull with unshed tears clouding them and his messy pink hair was in more dissaray then usual, he could see that the boy's abnormal sharp canines had bitten his bottom lip such force that a thin coating of blood still smeared his lips. He was never seen without his favorite scale-pattern scarf that hid a scar on the right side of his neck. Natsu had been Gray's best friend since the two first fought on whose turn it was on the swing set when they were in kindergarten-- Silver's fondest memories were when Gray would always come home and complain on what a _'brat'_ , _'coward'_ or _'cheater'_ Natsu was before he'd do a 360 and ask, more likely begged, him if Natsu could stay the night.

Silver hugged the smaller male as tightly as he possibly could, burying his face into those soft pink locks.

"Hey Silver."

"Laxus."

The second man, Laxus Dreyar, was Natsu's boyfriend; another one of Gray's closest friends but since they both pre-teens in middle school and were on the same baseball team. A rather tall and muscular young man, more taller and more well-built in comparison to the pinkette with orange eyes and with blond hair that was slicked back though its numerous messy strands pointed backwards with some falling down into a small tuft on his forehead. He had a rather distinct scar in the form of a lightning bolt over his right eye and a large tribal tattoo that extend up to his left shoulder and covers part of the corresponding upper back. He pulled both Silver and Natsu into a tight hug.

"The doctors are with Gray now,” Laxus murmured, "They wouldn't say how bad it was but if they have him in surgery-- It's- It must be bad. They said someone will come out and speak with us when they have more information."

Silver didn't say anything rather he hugged Natsu tighter, earning him a grunt from the pinkette but hugged him back with the same amount of power. As much as Silver would have liked to protest, he was quite the verbal protester when it came to something he didn't like, he couldn't let go of Natsu, he didn't want to leave Laxus' arms. Something he hadn't craved since he was but a boy-- He had to be okay-- He needed to be okay.

"It’s... It's gonna be okay," Natsu murmured against Silver's chest. "He's gonna be okay. I know he is. Gray's... Gray's a fighter. He's gonna be okay."

Silver was glad someone was remaining optimistic in the face of this but he supposed someone had to and if he couldn't do it-- His shoulders shook as a harsh sob escaped his throat. He could feel Natsu's hold on him grow stronger as he tried assure himself of both Natsu and Laxus' words but he couldn't-- He just couldn't.

* * *

 

Silver wasn't exactly sure how he had ended up in a chair in a rather quiet waiting room or when he had fallen asleep with Natsu leaning against is shoulder and Laxus leaning in his chair, both asleep. He could have sworn he felt something lightly touch his shoulder but he merely shrugged it off, trying to go back to sleep-- It failed as his anxieties and his fears resurfaced from lying dormant from Silver's sleep. He kept his eyes closed and he shifted, trying to get into a better position to ease his tense and sore muscles without waking the two men that flanked him when he felt that soft touch once again, this time, it felt warm, like a blanket and it gripped his shoulder, shaking him gently, bringing him back to the world of awakening.

"Huuu-- Wha--" Silver blinked his eyes several times, trying to clear them. "Who--?"

"Hello."

Silver jolted violently and jostling Laxus and Natsu who in turn, sat upright and straight in their seats, eyes wide and alert. In front of the three men was another young man, slim and of average height donned in a dark red pair of hospital scrubs that covered with a white lab coat with very long, straight blond hair that reached down below his back that he had gathered together into a low-hanging ponytail by a large, dark band. His delicate, almost feminine face was framed by two large bangs that reached down to his shoulders and he possessed a deep shade of dark green eyes that Silver that ever seen that hid behind a pair of small half-moon shaped glasses.

"I apologize for startling you." The man apologized with a small smile. "But are you Silver Fullbuster? Gray Fullbuster's father?"

At the mention of his son's name, Silver jumped to his feet along with Natsu and Laxus. "Yes! Yes! I'm his father!"

"My name is Rufus Lore." The man introduced himself. "I was one of the doctors who helped your son."

"I-Is he okay?" Natsu asked as Laxus rubbed his back soothingly.

"Is my son okay?" Silver whispered. "Please... Please tell me he's okay."

There was a brief and tense pause.

"Gray’s going to be just fine."

A wide array of emotions ran through the three men. There was relief, joy, excitement and happiness and Silver felt as though the weight that had been compressing his heart and lungs had been finally lifted.

The best news he had heard all night.

"However!"

Rufus' curt voice cut across their celebrations, like the sharpest blade through the thickest bamboo. All three men immediately fell quiet.

"Gray did sustain some injuries," Rufus said, once the quiet had been maintained, "And you must understand these injuries can still be fixed and I assure you, with the proper treatment, it'll remain so."

"O-Ok."

"What..." Silver breathed. "What happened to my son?"

"He suffered a few injuries, both good and bad," Rufus said, flipping through the papers on his clipboard, "When his vehicle's airbag was deployed during the violent rollover, he fractured both his wrists and the right forearm, a couple of the ribs, 5 on the left, 2 on the right. He suffered minor bruising and abrasions and a rather nasty concussion; The usual injuries from a given car accident. The good news basically."

"T-The bad--" Natsu gulped, shaking and immediately Laxus pulled him into a tight hug. "The b-bad news?"

Rufus sighed. "The injuries he sustained below his waist... I'm afraid they were much more severe."

And the tension of both his anxieties and his fears were back, but he had to remain calm. Remain calm. "What happened? H-How--"

"Both of his legs were crushed from the knees down," Rufus answered, "Both sets of patella, tibia and fibula were shattered and his left femur was broken in three places. We had to insert metal rods into the bone to anchor them together so as to allow both the bone and muscle to regrow properly."

Silver placed a hand onto his chest, over his heart. His heart couldn't possibly continue to keep going through with this.

"I apologize if I can't honestly sugarcoat this," Rufus said, placing a warm hand onto Silver's shoulder, "But your son will have to attend physical therapy to relearn how to walk, to reuse the muscles in his legs. It won't be a easy road-- I speak from experience-- but it would be a fate better then the other option we had."

"Other option?" Laxus asked. "What was the other _'option'_?"

"Amputation."

All three men shuddered violently.

"The p-person... The person who hit G-Gray," Natsu whispered. "W-What happened? W-Were they hurt too?"

"Indeed." Rufus answered. Silver felt a morbid sense of satisfaction at hearing this, a feeling shared by Laxus. Served them right. "The two men suffered broken ribs, a broken arm and fractured collar bones and one man suffered a fractured skull. The one woman, because she wasn't wearing a seat belt, she suffered both broken arms, a broken neck and a fractured skull as well-- She should consider herself lucky that all three are alive. All three had abrasions and bruises and are being treated and detained."

"Are... Are we allowed to see-- To see Gray?"

"Of course." Rufus smiled, motioning them to follow him. "This way and we'll continue to discuss his treatment options while we walk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gray's injuries were similar to mine although I attained the broken kneecaps in automobile accident while the other injuries the femur, tibia and fibula were through a bad snowboard tumble on steep hillside.
> 
> It still ended in physical therapy.

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews are very much appreciated.


End file.
